


Sparking Feet and Pounding Beats

by DE_Winters



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: But Epic Friendship, But it sure is fun!, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Gen, Pseudo-Canon Brawling Rules, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Tagging isn't easy, odd friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 00:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11324976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DE_Winters/pseuds/DE_Winters
Summary: It started off as a normal day for Zelda and then she gets kidnapped.It's not what you'd call a normal kidnapping.In fact, it seems rather stupid.But something really great came out of it.An epic Zelda & DK Brawl team story for my friend's birthday!





	Sparking Feet and Pounding Beats

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I didn't think this would happen.  
> I was playing Brawl with my friend Alex one day. I was Zelda, and he was Donkey Kong, and I thought it was a pretty unusual pair, but we did pretty well as a team, and this idea came out of the dinner conversation!
> 
> I finally finished it up for his birthday, and he liked it so much, he thought it would be cool if I posted it.
> 
> It's less in-depth and serious than my other stories are, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
> 
> There are only fun friendships in this story, but you can see a bit of Link/Zelda if you so desire.
> 
> I do not own the characters or the game series. They belong to Shigeru Miyamoto, Masahiro Sakurai, and Nintendo.

Zelda had taken two steps outside the training arena when the Deku Nut exploded under her foot.

Those nuts were one of her favorite items in a Brawl, but even she was not used to them without the arena’s protective guards. She saw the flash, felt her stunned, unbalanced body fall backwards, and came to with a hot, rough cloth over her face and something thick and heavy pinning her arms to her sides.

For a moment, she considered struggling, but stopped herself before she moved. Anything strong enough to restrain her like this was not something that would go down easily, and she did not want to start a fight with someone she couldn’t see, in an unknown place, and before the Deku Nut’s toxins had completely gone from her body.

So she held still.

Whoever or whatever was holding her didn’t seem to notice that she was awake, but Zelda took extra care to keep her breathing slow and deep and her body relaxed. As the nut’s effects cleared up, she could feel more of her restraints. They felt like arms, gigantic, yes, but warm, very warm, and…furry?

And they were holding her carefully – just enough to keep her still, but gentle enough that they wouldn’t hurt her.

There was only one person she knew who would fit all that criteria – Donkey Kong.

_What in the WORLD is going on?_

She didn’t know him very well – he’d been with Smash much longer than she had, and they didn’t interact much – but he and Link had been paired for a few Brawls together and got along well. And while everybody in the Smash mansion knew about every single contest between DK and Mario, they all knew the rivalry was friendly.

So why on earth would he try to _kidnap_ her?

Zelda kept trying to hold still. Though her head was feeling clearer, she still didn’t know where she was with the cloth over her face. DK would sometimes keep one arm around her awkwardly as he climbed what she thought were ladders. She really, _really_ did not want to start a fight that would launch one or both of them off a cliff.

It felt like hours before the ape gently laid her down on something hard and wooden. His thick fingers smoothed down her dress and clumsily patted at her arms before wrapping around the cloth and whisking it away so fast that it slapped her face. By the time she could open her eyes and adjust to the faint light, Donkey Kong was scampering away, making low, excited rumbles like a kid on his birthday.

“What is he even doing?” Zelda whispered as she stood up, stretched her arms, and looked around.

He had put her in the weakest cage she had ever seen. The bars were wide enough that she would be able to slip through them if she was a little smaller. The walls reached just above her head, and there was no roof. Zelda stretched her hand up, but there was nothing touching her fingers, nothing keeping her in the cage at all.

She thought briefly about burning the wooden bars, but the floor underneath her was wooden too, so she jumped, caught the top bar, and pulled herself out gracefully. 

The walkway she landed on was dark and deserted, and ahead of her, all she could see were the prongs of a ladder. She stepped carefully, trying not to make too much noise and attract the ape, but a sudden rattling made her cry out and she swung her foot before thinking.

The barrel exploded against her boot, and she laughed.

Of course – Donkey Kong had brought her to 75m. The ladders, the walkways, the barrels she could see turning on the gears under the cage’s platform – it all made sense now, except that she still didn’t know why DK had kidnapped her. But now she knew she could stop him if he came for her again.

She didn’t hear the ape’s heavy footsteps or grunting as she slid down the ladders and continued down the walkways, kicking the barrels that came at her. In fact, aside from the rattling of wood on rolling wood, she didn’t hear anything—

“Zelda?”

—until she got to the bottom walkway and saw Link standing there, sword and shield at the ready, with a bemused but relieved look on his face.

“It is you,” he breathed, putting his weapons away and running forward to embrace her. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, hugging him back. “What are you doing here? Are you by yourself?”

“Rescuing…or, uh, _coming_ to rescue you,” Link said, a bit confused, and Zelda conceded that it was a rather stupid question. “I heard you yell when the Deku Nut went off, but I couldn’t get to you in time to follow whoever took you. Mario got his brother to help me search, but a lot of people were training, so we had to split up to look at all the running stages. I’m sorry I took so long, though…” He gestured to the ladder she had climbed down. “I guess you didn’t need me.”

Zelda smiled, resting her hand on his arm. “Thank you for coming anyway, and you don’t need to worry. The person who took me wasn’t going to hurt me. It was Donkey Kong.”

Link was hit with so much bewilderment, he actually stepped back, eyes wide and jaw dropped. “ _Donkey Kong_? Are you _serious_?” 

Zelda nodded. 

“But… _why_? Are you sure it—”

An inhuman shout screeched through 75m from above their heads, loud enough to make the both of them flinch. For a brief moment, Zelda felt legitimately frightened, before she realized that the howl sounded more…disappointed than anything else.

“Well, that was definitely DK,” Link said, uncovering his ears.

“Is something wrong?”

“I think DK’s the only one who would know. Come on.” He took her hand and started back towards the mansion. “If he follows us back, perhaps Master Hand can help us figure out what in the world is going on.”

That sounded good to her.

 

“ **I see you were successful,** ” a loud voice greeted as they entered the kitchen. Master Hand hovered over the counter, greatly reduced in size so he did not take out any of the surrounding walls.

“Yes, I was,” Link said, throwing a small smile over his shoulder at Zelda. “Were you waiting for us?”

“ **I am waiting for Princess Zelda and Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong is on his way, so I’d advise you to leave before he arrives.** ”

“You want me to go?”

“ **Are you concerned?** ”

“Not concerned, exactly,” Link said. “I’m _confused_. Zelda has been kidnapped before—sorry—”

“No, you’re right,” Zelda said, smiling. 

“But not like this. It’s not like DK was going to hurt her,” Link continued, and despite the situation, Zelda felt a small warmth at the words. The two really were friends. “And she escaped _so_ easily, it was almost as though he wasn’t trying.”

“ **I understand your point, Link, but this is a private matter between Princess Zelda and Donkey Kong, and I do not want Donkey Kong’s explanations to be censored because a friend of his is here. I am sure the princess will be happy to answer your questions after our meeting.** ”

“I’ll find you right after we’re done,” Zelda promised. “Why don’t you go find Mario and Luigi and tell them that everyone’s safe?”

For a moment, Link looked like he wanted to argue more, but instead he sighed. “All right. I’ll probably be in my room when you’re done.”

She squeezed his hand as he turned to go. As though on cue, right when the door to the dining room shut behind him, the door to the backyard swung open and Donkey Kong… _shuffled_ in. There was no better word to describe it. Even at a diminished size and lacking a face, Master Hand still gave off a very piercing aura, but Donkey Kong seemed more wary of her than of the commander. He kept scratching the back of his head, looking positively _sheepish_.

At that moment, all confidence that Zelda had gathered vanished with a rush of prickly sweat to her brow. She didn’t have a clue what to say. Donkey Kong and Link were friends, but that didn’t mean she and the ape were friendly. How was she supposed to ask him why he kidnapped her? Was she supposed to gently broach the subject, or cut right to the point? Should she smile and help him to calm down, or pay no attention to his discomfort and tell him to explain himself?

It was the most awkward silence she had ever encountered.

She had half-hoped that Master Hand would lead the discussion, or at least help her start the conversation, but the commander was eerily silent, and the longer he was, the more Donkey Kong fidgeted. After a minute of quiet, the ape was almost whimpering, and Zelda sighed quietly in sympathy. Was this some sort of crude interrogation technique of Master Hand’s? She cast a glance at the commander, but the floating fingers gave her no indication of what he had in mind.

Just when she was about to give up on any formalities and try to make Donkey Kong relax, Master Hand finally spoke.

“ **DONKEY KONG.** ”

While his voice had been moderate earlier, he raised the pitch so loud that a pain shot through Zelda’s long ears and the ape covered his head and growled. 

“ **My apologies,** ” the commander said in a voice that did not threaten to bring the mansion down. “ **Donkey Kong, Princess Zelda, myself, and several others are most curious and concerned with your actions earlier this day. You stunned the princess outside any training facility, kidnapped her, put her in the cage in the 75m stage, and then went back for her. Explain yourself.** ” 

He had gone back for her? Zelda thought back to watching the ape scurry away from the cage, and the loud roar she and Link had heard several minutes later. Had he cried out because she had escaped? Was the whole mess some sort of crazy show?

Donkey Kong grunted for about five seconds, then ducked his head sheepishly and started to motion with his big hands. It was something akin to sign language, and Zelda made a mental note to ask Link about that later. It wasn’t until he pointed at her that she realized he was trying to talk to _her_ instead of Master Hand.

“Uh…” In truth, she hadn’t been paying close attention to what he had been gesturing, but he nodded and continued without her having to ask. He pointed to her again, swung his foot around, cupped his hands around his eyes, and pointed to his chest.

“I…kicked you?” Zelda asked. “No, I couldn’t have, we never had matches together, and I wouldn’t kick you out of the blue like that.” She _was_ going to kick him for real if he had kidnapped her over some imagined slight.

But he was shaking his head empathetically and gestured again, this time pointing at his chest, cupping his eyes, then pointing her and kicking.

“You…no, no, you didn’t kick _me_ , if that’s what you're saying. You were rather gentle with me today, which is why I am so confu—”

He shook his head again.

She tried to understand his sign language three more times before Master Hand sighed in a long-suffering manner and offered to translate. As the commander spoke, Zelda knew her mouth was dropping open more and more, until she must have looked like a complete fool.

But she didn’t care.

She had no idea what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t _this_.

 

“Are you _serious_?”

“Yes, Link, I’m serious. Donkey Kong wants to be my fighting partner.”

“And _this_ is how he decides to go about asking you?”

Zelda had to laugh. She had already repeated the wacky story to herself three times on the way up to Link’s room, and she still wasn’t sure she understood it. “Apparently, I intimidate him because I’m a princess. But he saw how close Mario and Peach are after Mario saved Peach from Bowser, and how close you and I are after you saved me from Ganondorf. Apparently, he thought we’d forge a friendship faster if he ‘rescued me’ from a kidnapper who put me in a cage. He didn’t expect that I would wake up and realize it was him the whole time. Or that I would escape.”

“You’re serious?”

“Are you going to keep asking me if I’m serious?”

“Sorry,” Link said, reddening slightly. “He really said all that?”

“Master Hand translated.”

Now it was Link’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, DK has an interesting way of communicating. When he and I first met in Smash and he realized I couldn’t understand him, he took to making these exaggerated hand gestures at me. He looked absolutely ridiculous.”

“He tried that on me. I had no idea what he was doing.”

“It takes some time to get used to.” Link got to his feet, stretching out his arms. “Did he tell you why he wanted to be your partner?”

“He said he saw some of my training sessions and was impressed when my Lightning Kick blasted the alloys off the stage. Apparently, I reminded him of Diddy Kong, at least in the way we fight.”

“Diddy Kong?” The silly-looking confused look threatened to slide back onto Link’s face, but then he shrugged. “I guess that makes sense. I haven’t seen much of the little monkey lately, but you two are a lot better with long-range fighting than DK is.”

“Diddy’s been busy at the new U stadium, and apparently Donkey Kong’s been lonely.”

Link settled back onto the couch, facing her with a knowing smirk. “You’re going to take him up on the offer, aren’t you?”

Zelda chuckled. “You know what? I think I am. I’d like to see how it works. All the theatrics today are not likely to happen again now that he's finally talked to me. He just wanted me to respect him. I think I can work with that.” She nudged Link with her elbow. “Besides, it’s not the strangest way I’ve made a friend. At least he didn’t barge into my room, completely transformed and carrying a sharp-tongued Twili on his back.”

Link burst out laughing.

 

“So you _can_ understand me when I talk, right?”

Donkey Kong nodded, looking awkward.

“Okay, good,” Zelda said. “Now that we’ve got that taken care of…”

She bit her lip. She and DK were standing in the Battlefield. The wards were set to Training Mode, the stage was empty besides the two of them, and Zelda had no idea what to do. She had asked Link and their other friends for privacy during their training, but now, she wasn’t sure if that was a good plan. Donkey Kong didn’t seem to have any ideas either, but it wasn’t as though she would understand him if he did.

Maybe that was a good first step.

“Well, we already established I don’t understand you,” she said, and the ape got that same sheepish look on his face again, the one that made it impossible for Zelda to decide if she wanted to laugh or apologize. He looked so much like a guilty _child_ rather than a…

Actually, she had no idea what he normally looked like.

“You know,” she tried, keeping her tone light, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match of yours. What do you say we call up a fighting alloy and see what we’re working with here?”

That got her another nod, but this one was relaxed, happy even, one that made her smile as well. At least they were making some progress. “All right then. One fighting alloy, please!” she called to the sky.

The tall red alloy materialized between them.

“Should we start with fighting level…four?”

The alloy moved before she could get an answer, and Donkey Kong moved with it.

The ape was on the program before it could get away, ramming his giant fists into its stomach, back, legs, head. Zelda jumped back, readying magic in her fingers, and with one final blow from DK, the alloy flew into her arms.

She sent sparks pouring into it as fast as she could, and over the crackling light and the alloy’s struggles, she could see Donkey Kong brace his arms behind his back, gathering tension in his muscles. When he nodded at her, she sent the program to him with a kinetic burst, and he clapped both hands on the alloy with all his strength. 

The alloy went flying, so high she almost missed it, but she leapt into the air and hit it with her Lightning Kick as hard as she could.

It soared off the stage so fast Zelda couldn’t even see its damage level, but the numbers were barely red.

The whole fight has lasted less than a minute.

Zelda was panting, but not from exertion – there hadn’t been enough time for her to exhaust herself. She could not remember the last time she had jumped into a Brawl with so little _thought_. There had been no planning, no strategy, no real _words_ , just the two of them making their strengths work together.

It was _awesome_.

Donkey Kong was gasping with exhilaration too, and grinning so widely at her that Zelda had the strangest urge to run and give him a high-five. But then he held out his palm to her, reaching _up_ , and Zelda realized that she had landed on one of Battlefield’s floating platforms without even noticing. 

He steadied her as she climbed down, and when she was on the ground, the ape _laughed_ , a deep, rumbling belly laugh that made Zelda laugh too, so hard she had to sit down. The clock ticked the minutes by, and she knew that somewhere, Master Hand was watching them and scratching the equivalent of his head, but she didn’t care. The longer DK laughed, the longer she did.

“Well then,” she gasped, when it had become too hard to breathe. Donkey Kong looked at her, catching his own breath and grinning expectantly. “Shall we go again?”

The ape held up six fingers.

“Level six it is then. And then let’s try two of them.”

 

“One more time?” Zelda asked tiredly. “Please?”

Donkey Kong spun his fingers, splayed out his palms as though flicking a giant fly, and fired make-believe guns into the air.

“DK, I told you that if I do the Farore’s Wind spin, I can’t do anything else until I land again and…you weren’t talking about Farore’s Wind, were you?”

DK shook his head with a bemused smile, and Zelda buried her head in her lap.

Communication was their biggest hurdle with their training, and Zelda figured that Link’s hand signals were a good idea. She thought that they should create their own set of gestures, in case they ever were matched against Link or anyone else who had signals with the ape, and DK had happily agreed, but he seemed somewhat less happy now that they were in their third hour of brainstorming.

Learning sign language was _hard_.

A warm hand smoothed over her hair, and she sat up, giving Donkey Kong a wan grin. “What do you say we take a break and head back for dinner? I don’t know about you, but I can't think for another minute without food.”

He nodded and drew her to her feet, grunting. Zelda still had no idea what he was saying, but she was getting more used to the tone. 

Actually…

“You know,” she said, “during a match, we not might always be able to see each other. Maybe I could learn some of what you say and we can have verbal signals too?”

He slapped her on the back so hard she almost fell over, but it just made her laugh. “I take that as a yes.

“But food first.”

 

“That was pretty good!” Zelda said as the clock froze over Temple, blinking ‘6:48.’ She and Donkey Kong were now up to a cycle of ten alloys, and every training match, they were shaving a few seconds off their finishing time. They had taken to switching stages as well, so they could practice on all types of terrain. 

“Hey, I have an idea. You know I can transform, right? Why don’t we take the number down to five and see what I can do?” 

DK shrugged, but nodded.

“All right! We’ll get the match started, and I’ll jump over here so I don’t blind you!”

Escaping behind the crumbling column was very simple, but by the time the light had cleared, two of the alloys were on her despite DK doing his best to draw attention. She flashed a Deku Nut and escaped to the flat level of the temple, dragging the programs with her.

Sheik might not have the magic to back up her attacks, but Zelda loved the Sheikah’s speed and strong muscles. She waved her chain to herd the other programs towards Donkey Kong—

_Bam!_

DK’s big hands clapped over the alloys, but Sheik was so much faster without the long skirt and heavy regalia that she ended up running right between his palms, and he sent her flying back into the column and down into the dirt pit.

Oh good _Goddesses_ , that hurt.

“Sheik!”

Her head was throbbing so hard that she almost couldn't process Peach’s voice as it floated across the stage. She wanted to call out, but she was completely out of breath and her face wrappings were shoved down her throat.

Warm hands turned her over and sat her up, and Peach’s face swam into view. The pink princess smiled gently. “I came to see if you two wanted tea – you’ve been here for hours. Are you all right?”

Sheik pulled the wrappings off her face and shoved the cowl down around her neck. “Mostly.” 

Concerned grunting filled her ears, and she tilted her head back to look at Donkey Kong frowning worriedly at her. She patted the back of his hand, still supporting her shoulders. “Don’t worry, big guy. We can…turn up the safety features, I think. Team matches will keep us... _ow_...from hitting each other at all.”

The two of them drew her to her feet, and for a moment, Sheik was convinced she was going to pass out in their arms. “But I’m thinking Sheik and DK don’t work as well as Zelda and DK, huh?”

Peach squeezed her hand. “Come on. Some tea and rest will fix you up.”

 

“So _haroo!_ means _jump_ , and _harumph!_ means _duck_ , am I right?”

Donkey Kong nodded enthusiastically.

“I never thought I’d ever say anything like that,” Zelda said, chuckling, but it did feel nice to know she was getting the hang of some of his language. She wouldn’t be considered fluent in ‘ape’ any time soon, but between their hand signals, grunts, and head gestures, they had pretty much solved all of their major communication problems. 

Which was a relief, because she was _exhausted_.

Peach had been right – the tea and rest was doing her wonders, and now she just felt more tired than anything else. The soft sofa in her room wasn’t helping her stay alert either. She was honestly considering calling it a night and going to sleep right there when a sheepish grumble sounded from DK.

“You don’t need to apologize,” she murmured. “I promise you that it’s fine. Nothing even hurts anymore.” Reluctantly, she got her arms underneath her and pushed herself upright, pleased that there really was no more pain, just some shakiness. “I think Peach got some Red Potion from Link and stirred it into her tea. She’s talented enough to make it so I couldn’t taste anything.”

Donkey Kong grumbled again, and this one sounded a little scared.

“Don’t worry about Link either, or anyone else for that matter. Look at me. No one’s mad. First of all, it was an accident, and second of all, _I_ ran into _you_. If Link was really that worried about us, he would have defied my request to let us train in private. But he hasn’t, and he’s not going to. The moment we realize it was you who had ‘kidnapped’ me a few weeks ago, we were more confused than concerned, because we both knew you were never going to hurt me, because you are our friend.”

DK stared at her blankly for a moment, and then with a giddy whoop, he scooped her off the couch and hugged her.

Even that didn’t hurt.

She hugged him back. “At least it wasn’t the other way around. I could have set you on fire!”

He just managed to put her back down before he burst into hysterics.

 

“Ready?” Zelda asked.

DK rumbled an affirmation.

They had decided they were ready for a public match as a team. The two of them, against a cycle of fifty alloys that would increase in difficulty, on a stage of their choosing.

Everyone got one life each.

They had chosen Onett, which they felt was open without being too spacey and had limited obstacles. The crowd was already in position and buzzing like bees, but Zelda couldn’t see anyone through the simulated stage.

She was hoping she’d be able to give Link a wave before they started, but she would have to do without. 

“I guess this is it,” she said. “I’ll see you in there.”

And with that, they stepped into the transporters that would send them into the fray.

The first ten alloys were so slow that she and Donkey Kong made short work of them, just like they did in training. The only real thing that was different was that the alloys moved to pick up items, but she and DK blasted them off before they could use them. 

“Good start!” she yelled from the grass. He was up on the flag-covered wire, holding a Star Rod that he had just KO-ed an alloy with, and he gave her a thumbs up. The crowd roared with approval. That was different too, but it was easy enough to tune them out.

Then the next alloy materialized right near the ape, snatching up a Poke ball. DK lurched backwards, landing on the grass, and it exploded at Zelda’s feet, releasing a bright green Chikorita.

“ _Haroo!_ ” Zelda yelled, summoning her Nayru’s Love to block the leaves. DK’s shadow loomed over her as he jumped to safety, but before she could follow him, the Chikorita’s leaves broke through her defense and started knocking her back to the wall. She tried to call up her Smash shield, but it deteriorated too fast under the assault and she was left feeling the _whap whap whap_ of sharp leaves against her stunned body.

The yellow car swerving suddenly onto the sidewalk broke the loop and sent her flying onto the top balcony, and for a moment, she was so winded that all she could do was lie there. A shower of red sparks rained on her, and she realized that the alloy had followed her down and had been KO-ed by the vehicle. More were starting to flash on stage around her.

She rolled to her feet and leapt towards Donkey Kong, taking out the alloy closest to his back with a Lightning Kick. She couldn’t catch him with the current, thank the Goddesses, but she nearly landed on him and had to duck down as he sent the two programs in front of him flying. The screen in the sky flashed to ‘17’ and Donkey was at 18% damage, whereas the Chikorita assault and the car had shot her up to 49%.

DK caught her eye and raised his hands, making a straight line with his index digits and waving his middle ones back and forth.

“Two-for-tango on the wire sounds good,” Zelda agreed, and together they jumped.

For a good while, they stayed there, luring the alloys between them and volleying them back and forth before the programs could recover. But when the screen above them flashed to ‘27 KOs,’ DK shouted “ _HARUMPH!_ ”

Zelda ducked down so fast that she slipped off the wire and onto the blue roof, just in time for Donkey Kong to catch the Smart Bomb a green alloy had thrown at her and hurl it at the balcony. It exploded almost the second it left his hand.

For a moment, Zelda forgot that the fire would not actually hurt him and straightened up so quickly she almost knocked two alloys’ feet out from under them. She swirled a tight circle of sparks above her head, making them blink bright red with damage, but they did not fly off the stage as they had before. She and DK were getting to the harder alloys now.

By the time he got back to his feet, DK’s damage was at 70% and distinctly reddened, and alloys were starting to converge on both of them separately. They were now stuck on opposite ends of the stage, and it was not easy to escape the persistent alloys anymore. Every now and then, DK would knock them away with his Spinning Kong move and come and punch her enemies into the ground, or she could catch hers off guard with Farore’s Wind and send a Din’s Fire sphere at his alloys, but in the end, it all came down to the same tactic – separate to keep the programs from overwhelming themselves or each other.

When she looked up again, the KO count was at 43, and she was kicked onto the balcony for her distraction. Her damage number jumped to 106%, and she was feeling the burn of exertion over her entire body. The alloys were getting crueler now; she knocked the sign onto the balcony as she fell, and now the canvas was giving out and dropping her to the grass, and it was the longest break she’d had from the alloys yet. But even as she lay there, gasping, three of them descended on her like nightmares.

With a mighty howl, Donkey Kong came to her rescue, punching them so hard that all three of them were knocked away from her. But when he went to chase them, a Deku Nut exploded under his foot, dropping him in a stunned heap.

Zelda rolled her feet, ducking in front of him and casting Nayru’s Love as furiously as she could. The alloys staggered, falling back against the wall and reddening with damage, but they kept lunging for her again and none of them would fly off the stage. She was hitting them so fast that between the sparkling shards of her energy crystals and the blinking alloys, she didn’t realize what else was flashing until it was almost too late.

“ _HAROO!_ ”

She and DK jumped just as the Gooey Bomb attached to a blue alloy exploded, sending it and a green one into the sky and knocking Zelda onto the wire again. She scrambled upright again, trying to get a glimpse of Donkey Kong, when a yellow alloy appeared in front of her and swung a Baseball Bat straight into her stomach.

She flew away so fast, she thought it was all over.

And then a big hand wrapped around her waist and the crowd gave a loud “ _Oh!_ ” as Donkey Kong snatched her out of the air.

There was no time for a thank-you. Instead, DK set her next to him on the red roof and knocked the sides of his fists together.

Back-to-back.

He was closest to the center, so four came to him while the last one went for her. For a long moment, it was all Zelda could do to punch and kick, but at last, she caught him in her grip, right as DK spun, making a wind rustle her skirt. She turned on her heel and flung her yellow alloy into the ape’s whirlwind, sending it and two others into the sky.

There were only two left, knocked onto the tree by the Spinning Kong and getting to their feet, ready to jump. 

Zelda dropped onto the low overhang and jumped, shooting a fireball into the sky.

The alloys soared off into the sky with screams of binary.

_**“GAME!”** _

They had won.

The crowd was exploding.

Zelda only had time to breathe once before thick, hairy arms closed around her and whirled her around, roaring with happiness. She wanted to cheer too, but she was so tired she didn’t have the energy. Instead, she clung to his neck, giggling with relief. 

“ _Zelda!_ ”

Link’s voice rose above all the yelling, and when she looked up, she saw that the Onett simulation had been shut off and the crowd was emptying onto the stage. DK set her down and pushed her forward, and she was so unsteady with giddiness that she practically stumbled into Link’s arms.

“That was _amazing!_ ” he cheered, spinning her around too. “You worked great together!”

“Told you,” she said, and all the adrenaline drained out of her until she was barely holding herself up at all. “Oh good Goddesses, I can’t remember ever feeling this tired.”

“Not surprising,” Link said, adjusting his hold on her so he supported her weight. “Look.” The final scoreboard said the Brawl lasted over half and hour, and DK had ended with 119% damage. Hers said 151%, dangerously red.

“My goodness,” she breathed.

“Come on,” Link said, tightening his arm around her waist. “We can get you a quiet room and some more of Peach’s tea.”

“What about DK?” She had lost sight of him in the crowd.

“Mario arranged a little surprise for him.”

Before she could ask, there was a high-pitched chatter, a deep roar of delight, and Donkey Kong leap from the crowd, his arms clasped tight around Diddy Kong.

“He got here in time to watch the match,” Link said.

“Mario just made DK’s entire month.”

 

Zelda liked Delfino Plaza. It was always warm and bright, but never overbearing, and the island smells of tropical fruit and salt water were unlike anything she smelled in Hyrule. For a moment, she imagined powering up this stage just to unwind at the beach, but something told her that Master Hand wouldn’t appreciate that.

Oh well. It was still nice to come by, even it was just to watch a match. Especially a match like this. Luigi and Ness against two R.O.B.s. It was going…less than well for the humans. She couldn’t really make out what was happening from her seat on the side roof, but Luigi sounded like he was cursing up an Italian storm.

The building she was sitting on shook, and DK’s head popped up over the shingles, grinning widely.

“Hey, big guy,” she greeted, sliding over so he could have room between her and the uneven edge of the roof. “You here to watch too?”

He nodded, hoisting himself up and pulling bananas out of…she didn’t really want to ask where. He shoved three in his mouth and chewed happily, offering the fourth to her.

“No thanks.” She wasn’t fond of bananas themselves, though they smelled delightfully sweet in the summer air. The platform stage flew over to the far fountain, catching her eye, and when she looked down, there was a pile of peanuts in her lap. 

“Thanks!” she said, cracking the shell of one. Hyrule had nothing like peanuts, but she was honestly considering taking some back with her. They were salty and full of flavor, with a soft crunch and hint of sweetness. “These from Diddy?”

DK nodded, and then gestured. _For you. A thank you._

“He’s thanking me? This whole team thing was your idea.”

_No more loneliness._

Zelda smiled and leaned against him. It was too hot for them to really hug with his fur, but this was good enough for now. “I’m glad we did it. And I’m glad you asked me, even though it was…unconventional, to say the least.”

_We good._

We really were, weren’t we? So good, others are trying to do the same thing!”

DK made an exaggerated face, bugging out his eyes and dropping his jaw. Zelda giggled.

“It’s true! Mario asked Link about it, and Pit said he saw Wolf and Bowser on Final Destination. Even now, Luigi and Ness are trying their luck, only things are…”

By now the platform had moved them over to the Shine Gate, too far away for her to see what was going on. But the moment she turned her head, she felt DK grab her waist and lift her up high enough to see.

Tingle was on the stage, and she honestly couldn’t tell who summoned him, because Luigi was arguing and waving his arms around, and Rupees were flying everywhere. The two R.O.B.s were staring at each other, and Ness was burying his head in his hands in exasperation.

Zelda burst out laughing as DK lowered her back to the roof.

“Things are going less than good for them,” she said, wiping her eyes. 

_Of course. We the best._

She settled back against his arm, passing him a peanut. “Indeed we were.”

**Author's Note:**

> So in case you didn't realize, they really don't have this sort of stuff in the game itself (at least not that I've noticed), but I thought it was close enough to canon to work. Plus, that would be really fun if it were true.
> 
> Again, if anyone has any knowledge as to how to indent on AO3 HTML or if I need to do anything else for the disclaimer, please let me know!


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